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Writethru: Building collapse in Tel Aviv kills 2, more are missing

Xinhua, September 6, 2016 Adjust font size:

The collapse of a four-story car park in Israel's financial capital Tel Aviv on Monday killed at least two construction workers, including a Ukrainian nationality, and injured 23, as rescue teams struggled to locate missing people believed trapped under the ruins.

The midday accident occurred at an underground parking garage that was under construction.

The reason for the collapse was not immediately clear.

Police launched a criminal investigation into the collapse, suspecting negligence.

Videos of the accident showed a huge plume spreading in the air as the roof of building caved in.

Police spokesperson Luba Samri identified one victim as a 28-year-old construction worker from Ukraine. She said the second victim has yet to be identified.

Palestinian Labor Minister Mamoun Abu Shahla was quoted by Palestinian media as saying that some of the casualties may be Palestinians. Israel did not comment on his remark.

Some 50,000 Palestinians have permits to work in Israel and many others are entering the country without papers. Together they compose a substantial part of Israel's construction labor force.

The searches for more victims continued into the night, with hundreds of medical personnel, firefighters, police officers and soldiers at the site.

A military spokesperson said in a statement that the forces are operating to "extract five additional trapped civilians."

The statement added that over 300 soldiers from the "Search and Rescue" battalion and the "Canine Special Forces Unit" are taking part in the rescue efforts.

Micha Levin, identified as a project manager at the site, told Channel 2 TV news that he was underground in the car park when the collapse occurred.

"We felt the vibrations when suddenly everything started to collapse," he said, adding that he was very lightly wounded because he was in the higher story when the accident happened.

"I don't wish anyone to experience it. It was scary. You feel like everything is going to fall, and you are going with it," he told reporters at a hospital.

In the evening, Eli Bin, director of Israel's MDA rescue service, said that the teams identified voices of two people trapped inside the debris but could not manage yet to get to them.

"The site is tough to operate in," he said, adding that the work is progressing slowly for fear of creating more collapses.

The accident occurred in Ramat Hachayal, a neighborhood in northern Tel Aviv where many offices of Israel's booming high-tech industry are located.

The car park was constructed by Africa-Israel, a construction company based in Israel that won a tender to build to the site from the Tel Aviv municipality.

Israel has a high number of construction accidents, compared to other developed countries. According to figures from the Economy and Industry Ministry, 30 workers were killed in construction sites since the beginning of 2016. Endit